Greenville County Council approves $4 million in opioid-settlement grants for treatment and harm-reduction programs

Greenville County Council members at a Committee of the Whole meeting approved a package of South Carolina Opioid Recovery Fund (SCORF) grants totaling about $4,000,000 to continue and expand treatment, harm-reduction and outreach programs across the county.

The grant approvals follow year-one spending the county described to council: the detention center received just over $1 million, Greenville County EMS received $50,000, and the Phoenix Center and partner organizations received roughly $2 million. County staff said Greenville County currently holds about $7,000,000 in a county-specific SCORF account and that the state-level program will deliver additional annual payments over the coming years.

The funding package funded several continuing and expanded efforts. Dr. Israel Hollister, director for the detention center program, said the jail’s medicated assisted treatment (MAT) work has moved from pilot to routine practice. "What began as like a mere idea is now a fully implemented program at the detention center," Hollister said, and he described a case in which a pregnant woman started on buprenorphine (Suboxone) while detained, received in‑jail OB care and linkage to housing and community treatment on release.

Dr. Marty Lutz, medical director for Greenville County EMS and the detention center, described MAT as a clinical standard for pregnant patients and for people already on MAT in the community. "It's also the standard of care for pregnant women, and it's the standard of care for folks that have been started on MAT in the community," Lutz said, adding that use of buprenorphine has reduced withdrawal-related visits to emergency departments and improved behavior in the facility.

April Roberts, assistant medical…